An Iowa Garden

The paths in our garden are roughly like a wheel and spokes; a circular path runs around the outside of the garden, and five paths run from the circle to the center of the garden, where they converge on a big old red cedar tree on a small hill, with an almost life-size angel underneath it; the angel looks almost straight west, out over the pond. For most of the year, the angel (named Hernia, for what I got moving her 300 lbs.) sits in the shade of the cedar tree, but just at the fall equinox the sun, as it sets over the west ridge, lights her up like she's on a stage... a nice sight as you come up the path in front of her, which runs between two long perennial borders, backed by hedges of weigela. The only odd thing is that I've decided her face bears an uncanny resemblance to George Washington.


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